Page 51 of Jay's Silence

“Twenty years?” The man responded. “Try less than a year, and it’s Superintendent now.”

One of the few armed officers pulled out his gun and rested it in front of him, his finger a hair from the trigger, sending off a cascade of small motions in his peers. Of the seven remaining officers, two more drew firearms while a woman at the back brought up her hands with balls of dark purple glowing in her palms.

Jay slid her left leg back and dropped her arm to her belt as if she was accustomed to carrying weapons that were no longer there. Between the threat and her defensive posture, I couldn’t stay in here. The bars under my hands bent like butter with just a hint of my dragon strength. The noise drew everyone's attention to me.

In his cell, Tyson tried to do the same, but the bars didn’t budge.

I stepped forward, shifting to my dragon eyes, and grew my horns. “I suggest all of you calm down.” I stirred up the air in the room, sending papers flying and making the lights flicker. Rehan and Ogden followed my lead, sliding closer to Jay and displaying various scales and claws.

Dragons.

The word passed through the officers, and Tyson’s cellmates uttered with the same awe my kids showed on chocolate chip pancake day. Men and women gave us second looks, some as ifseeing a legend, while others, like the women from the bar, with calculated greed. I puffed out my chest and focused on my mate.

Jay crossed her arms over her chest. “Superintendent, I don’t even know why you’re treating me as hostile, so maybe we don’t escalate this further.”

The superintendent took a deep breath before calling his men to stand down. Only after the glow left the woman's hands and every weapon was far from reach did I drop my horns.

“You dumped the shit bag fast,” Superintendent Kelly said, some of the confidence fading from his face.

“I have no idea what or who you’re talking about,” Jay said. She put her hands in the air. “I’ve not had a partner since…” her words trailed off, and her eyes unfocused before she blinked and shook her head. “And I’ve had no reason to visit your tourist trap since you turned the old faith into movie sets.”

Superintendent Kelly narrowed his eyes. “Do you expect me to believe you have no memory of what you did? You stole from us. Took a piece of our heritage. We were lucky only human garda were on duty, or it would have been England all over again.”

Jay blinked. “What happened in England?”

Superintendent Kelly’s jaw dropped. A few garda shifted uncomfortably.

“Sir,” a uniformed woman said. “We’re holding humans and our officers against their will at this point to keep the room private. If this is complicated, we need to move it.”

Superintendent Kelly picked up his jaw and grunted. “If you’re telling the truth,” Superintendent Kelly said. “Then you won’t mind stepping into the interrogation room.” His face darkened. “The special one.”

Jay tilted her head towards Tyson. “I suggest you let my other dragon out before he melts your bars.”

I turned just enough to see the bars under Tyson’s scaled hands glowing orange and collapsing under his grip.

“Dragon,” Sarah repeated breathily, stepping around her appointed guard and taking in Tyson like she saw him for the first time.

“My dragons.” Jay made a little circle with her fingers. “All four of them.”

I bit my lips together, fearing my skin would split if I grinned any wider at Jay’s claim. My dragon did a little victory dance while my human hips echoed it.

Superintendent Kelly nodded. “If you’ll come peacefully, I’ll hear you out.”

Jay splayed her hands. “I literally walked in here peacefully. This is your dog and pony show.”

“Walked in with four dragons,” the superintendent added. “Shifters that haven’t been seen in over a hundred years.”

“Technically, I only walked in with two.” Jay batted her eyes and leaned toward us.

The superintendent scowled before barking orders to his men.

Cormac growled, and I shifted my attention from my mate to Tyson. Cormac and the older man with white in his beard slid closer to the fire prince's exposed back.

“Let my guys go while you’re at it,” Cormac said, coming up on Tyson’s side and blocking the cell door.

“I can’t just let everyone go,” Superintendent Kelly bellowed from his desk. “Tourists got involved, Cormac. The media’s all over my ass. Just relax.”

“I had to close early. There’s damage and lost revenue. These dragons started it.” He jerked his thumb toward Tyson. “The gombeen didn’t even deny it. At least give these two my debts.”